A Trip Down Memory Lane
by waffleblooded
Summary: Nora and the Vault-Tec rep reminisce a little.


On warm nights, when the world was quiet for once and everyone in Sanctuary was safely tucked asleep in their beds, Nora would often take time to reflect on her life and gaze at the stars, trying to connect constellations and failing. She wondered if the effects of the war messed the sky up too, or if it had just been from the amount of time that had passed since she last laid eyes on them. She remembered so clearly laying on the dew covered grass late in the night, one of Nate's arms wrapped around her and the other pointing up into the sky, showing her every constellation he could find and even making some up along the way in an attempt to impress her. All she had now were those memories.

Never in a million years would she had thought her normal life would be flip-flopped into the science fiction comic books passed down through the generations from her great-grandfather. In her youth, she often laughed at how those century old comics depicted robots as evil masterminds, nothing like her Codsworth. But to be cryogenically frozen by those who were supposed to save them? To wake up to a mission to find her baby, only to find out he was no longer her little baby, but a fully grown man. Fighting off mutants and ferals just like the heroes in those old stories... It was a lot to take in and often made Nora feel faint. The world changed around her in what seemed like a minute. She hadn't lived through it, she just woke up in it and had to figure out how to cope somehow.

The only people she met from her time were skeptical ghouls. Some were joyful to have someone to reminisce on old times with while others were often envious and hateful to her. Sometimes, she understood. It wasn't fair she still had her smooth skin. It wasn't fair she slept through it all while others had to fight to survive. But other times she felt hateful right back. She didn't ask to be lied to and frozen for some sick experiment.

Sometimes she wished she had died right along with everyone else in that vault, right along with her husband...

But she had a new life now. She had new friends who brought her endless amounts of joy, she had a settlement to help with, and she had a lot of people throughout the land that regarded her pretty dang highly. She figured her life could be worst.

Sometimes she just wanted someone who could relate to her. Someone to share memories with and laugh over experiences like awkward high school crushes, college dares, and the way life used to be. She wanted someone else who experienced those kinds of things and could relate. She wanted someone she could really talk to, not someone who would just nod in an attempt to understand, not someone who could only vaguely remember it through memories that weren't even his, and not someone she would have to travel a dangerous journey just to get to them.

But now, the Vault-Tec Representative was back in Sanctuary. The only person she knew, if only as an acquaintance, from her time. He still got on her nerves, though, just like before the bombs fell. But Nora knew he would always be happy to see her and take a trip down memory lane right along side her.

When morning broke, she went to his house. He took up residence in the same home he lived in before the bombs dropped. It wasn't exactly close to hers, but he did live within an easy walking distance. She wondered if she had attended any of those neighborhood barbecues if she and he would have become friends back then.

She pecked on the front door and he opened it momentarily. He stepped to the side to allow her entry.

"Any luck on remembering that name of yours?" She grinned. He scowled. She always teased him about his name.

"I told you, I am Vault-Tec. That's what everyone else calls me, after all." He rasped out. She could hear his voice die down depressingly toward the end of his sentence. Nora felt a pang of guilt for teasing him. She didn't want to call him Vault-Tec. She wanted to call him by a real name. She helped him search drawers and such when she came to visit the first time, hoping to find some kind of paper, a document or something to figure out his name. No luck.

"I'm fine with being Vault-Tec. It was my life. It's all I knew." Nora placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know, when I forgot my name I wondered if I was turning feral. Guess not."

"I'm sorry..." She didn't know what to say to him. He placed a rough hand over hers.

"It's...it's alright. I'm in Sanctuary now, I have a job, and friends. All thanks to you." He smiled, reassuring her. She returned the smile.

Their visits with each other lasted longer now than they had initially. Nora would come to check on him to make sure he was getting along fine and be on her way again. Now they spend whole afternoons, sometimes full days, talking or simply relishing in the company of someone who remembers a simpler time.

Today Nora brought an old tattered photograph with her. She sat next to Vault-Tec and they let their feet dangle out of a barely covered hole in the side of his home. She showed him the photo, careful with the way she held it as it was delicate from age.

"This is the first photograph Nate and I took. I found it while cleaning out the garbage in my house. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. This was on our first date, I was so embarrassed to ask for a picture with him. I didn't want to come on strong, you know?" She giggled to herself. "You can see a bit of the sign here, we were at a place called 'Lettuce Eat' in the city."

Vault-Tec snorted. "Lettuce Eat?" He laughed. Nora laughed right along with him.

"I know, I know! Stupid name, but I was a vegan at the time! Nate planned this huge romantic date to a fancy restaurant. Reserved seats and all! The waitlist was a month so he planned it way before even asking me for a date. Guess he knew I would say yes!" Nora giggled like a school girl talking about her crush. "I read the menu two times and there wasn't anything vegan on it. Even the salads had meat and fancy cheeses on them, and it was one of those places where the chef would be insulted if you asked to change anything. So we left and found this place." She smiled fondly.

"Was it any good?"

"Hell no. The salads tasted like dishwater. I felt so guilty for ruining our date. But Nate said he wouldn't have wanted it any other way." She looked Vault-Tec in the eyes and smiled fondly. "Were you ever married?" she asked him.

Vault-Tec's smile faded and he huffed. "Yeah, but it didn't last long. Of all the things I could have forgotten, of course it wouldn't be that. I even remember her name. Can't remember my own damn name, not even my parent's, but of course, I can remember hers." He grumbled. He was annoyed.

"I'm sorry...what happened?" Nora was shamefully curious.

"Well," Vault-Tec rubbed his neck rough enough Nora feared he'd peel the decaying skin right off. "her name was Patricia. Called her Pat. We dated in high school and married a few years afterward...we were married...I dunno eight, ten years? Doesn't matter, point is she started coming around with this whole 'I'm lost in the role' bullshit." He threw his arms in the air as he mocked her.

"Lost in the role? What's that supposed to mean?"

"She said she lost her 'identity' to the marriage. She wanted her friends back, she wanted to go shopping and do things on her own again. I told her she could, but she swore she couldn't. She got remarried a week after the divorce was finalized."

"Oh...I'm sorry...I, I shouldn't have asked." Nora felt guilty for causing those memories to surface. She felt like this visit wasn't going quite like she had intended.

"It's alright. I've had two hundred and some years to come to terms with it. She's gone now, I'd imagine. You know, sometimes I wish I would have died in the explosion, too."

Nora scrunched her face up. "I know what you mean, I-" She stopped mid-sentence. She knew she really didn't understand him. Their circumstances were far too different, but they ended up here together in the end, so that was something. "I sometimes wish I had died in the vault...so I know what you mean."

"No you don't." His tone had turned cold. He leaned over to rest his elbows on his knees. Nora couldn't see the look on his face and was not sure she wanted to. Vault-Tec let out a loud sigh.

"While you were sleeping in a tank I was scrambling to find some place to hide. I hid in the basement of a brick home. You know, they said as long as you are were somewhere the light couldn't reach, you'll be safe. That's what they always said and I believed it! Hah. I thought I was in the clear, but nooo! My skin started peeling off and now look at me!" He turned to face Nora, his face compressed into a frown. He eyed her up and down. "But you, you're just as smooth as the day I was at your house. You look the same and it's not fair!" He nearly screamed at her.

Nora was quick to her feet and stared down at him, heart pounding in her chest. Vault-Tec knew how Nora felt about this subject. He was supposed to be her friend now, not some jealous asshole.

"Look, I'm sorry you didn't get into the vault, but you know what?" She cocked her head. "You probably wouldn't even be here if you had!" She screamed. Hammering stopped on nearby houses.

Nora had forgotten it was the middle of the day and residence were out working on building Sanctuary back up, and with all the cracks and holes that lie throughout all the decomposing pre-war homes, there wasn't much provided in terms privacy.

She closed her eyes to compose herself and focus on her breathing before speaking again. She looked at Vault-Tec expecting to see a more sour look on his face and was surprised to see him looking shocked.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "And, well, as bad as it may sound, I'm happy you are a ghoul. I'm happy you didn't die. You make me feel like I'm not alone in this world."

Vault-Tec simply stared at her for a full minute as he registered what she had just admitted to him. He felt guilty for yelling at her. She didn't endure what he had, but she lost just as much if not more. He valued their friendship too much to let this ruin it, and he knew she did too. No one else understood like she did and he was wrong to tell her she didn't.

Nora raised her brows waiting on some sort of response.

"Oh, well, I'm glad you didn't die either then."

At that, Nora burst out laughing. All the tension that was previously there lifted with her hearty chuckles and Vault-Tec couldn't help but laugh right along with her.

"You know, you're a good friend, Nora."

"You are too, whatever-you-name-is." she teased.

He frowned annoyingly before losing his composure and laughing again. It felt so good to laugh. After years of being alone, he was grateful to her company. She was grateful to his, too.


End file.
